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Pink paint pays tribute to cancer survivor’s journey

Aldergrove’s Alliance Concrete Pumps filled a special order, painting a concrete truck pink upon request for a customer in New York. The order was to honour Jarrad Garone’s wife Tara, a cancer survivor. The local company also presented a cheque for $10,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

It isn’t every day that Jay Miller fills an order for his company to custom-paint one of their heavy duty concrete pump trucks pink.

However, it was a bright hue the Alliance Concrete Pumps logistics co-ordinator from Aldergrove and his coworkers were all pretty excited about — especially upon learning later on that the custom colour for the 37Z Boom was for a great cause and a very special lady.

“The customer (Jarrad Garone) bought this specialized pump truck back in the fall and requested it be painted in pink because he wanted to surprise and support his wife who battled breast cancer,” explained Miller, whose own wife, Lorie, is a cervical cancer survivor.

As the truck came down the assembly line in all its pink, shiny glory, the team at Alliance Concrete Pumps weren’t aware of the back story, other than the fact that it was one big pink truck, notes Miller.

“It wasn’t until the decals, art work and the breast cancer sign came on that everyone — myself included — knew what it was all about.”

The inspiration for the set of hot wheels, Tara Garone, is a mother of three girls in her mid-30s, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in March of 2012. Fortunately, her doctors caught the cancer quickly and performed surgery immediately. Today, she is cancer free — the chance of it returning are less than one per cent.

In addition to bringing attention to an important cause, the truck serves as a symbol for the journey that Tara and the countless other women who have battled the devastating disease endure.

To send the truck to its new home in style — all the way across the continent, and the border, to New York State — the driver, Calvin Bowles, decided to coordinate colours with his one-of-a-kind ride and collect donations along the way for the American Breast Cancer Society.

Jarrad Garone’s business is located in Mechanicville, in upstate New York.

“When our driver heard the details of this truck and why it has been painted pink, he decided to dress in pink for the entire trip,” said Miller.

“His wife and daughter also bought him a pink cowboy hat to wear.”

Mike Enns, the regional sales manager and co-owner of Alliance, decided to make a donation on behalf of the Aldergrove business for $10,000 to the U.S. Breast Cancer Research Foundation in Tara’s name. The giant check was revealed during a special send-off April 7 in the company’s parking lot.

“Everyone wanted to get involved and help out — including staff from the front office and the whole logistics team,” said Jody Dempsey, the regional sales manager for the Aldergrove business.

“With our trucks, we are all involved in the process from start-to-finish. It touches all of our lives because we manufacture it from the ground up. Now I’ve seen some beautiful trucks come off that line, but this one is pretty special.”

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